


I'm Glad You Noticed

by irleggsy



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Attempt at Humor, Fluff, M/M, Not Beta Read, Sickfic, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:08:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24541327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irleggsy/pseuds/irleggsy
Summary: Ushijima swung the door open, preparing to find Tendou with headphones on, dead asleep or slacking off.What he was not expecting was to find him curled up in the fetal position, lying on top of his blankets and shaking like a leaf. He was sweaty and pale and alarm bells ofwrong wrong this is wrongwere already going off in Ushijima’s head.OR shamelessly based on this prompt from tumblr:Character A:Omg, you’re way too hot!Character B, delirious from a fever:Eyyy, I’m glad you noticed! *finger guns*Character A:…
Relationships: Tendou Satori/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Comments: 9
Kudos: 428





	I'm Glad You Noticed

**Author's Note:**

> i recently discovered the magic of writing tumblr, so. have this fic!! inspired by a [prompt originally from tumblr user](https://irleggsywrites.tumblr.com/post/619976929815199745/whumpster-dumpster-character-a-omg-youre-way) [whumpster-dumpster.](https://whumpster-dumpster.tumblr.com/)
> 
> this is definitely ooc for reasons (read end notes) and un-beta'd because it's not worth my beta's time lmfao
> 
> [edited 6/6/20 (yes i know it's only two days after i posted it) because i was very drunk when i wrote this and it shows and also i should stop projecting onto my characters]

_Knock, knock, knock._

Ushijima rapped his knuckles against the door. “Tendou,”

...No response.

Ushijimia knocked again, this time more urgent.

_Knock, knock, knock._ “Tendou?”

Tendou had never been the _best_ student, but his academic skills had never been anything to scoff at. Getting into Shiratorizawa on a scholarship had made their entrance easier, sure, but they couldn’t afford to slack off either. That was why Ushijima was concerned when he skipped all of his morning classes. His academic performance affected his ability to stay on the team.

And, well. Ushijima was never the best with social cues but even he knew this was very un-Tendou-like. That was why he decided to skip his lunch break in favor of tracking him down.

Once again, he was greeted with silence. He knocked one more time, putting a bit more oomph into it. The resulting sound was less of a polite knock and more of a continual banging.

_KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK--_ “Tendou!”

Still no response.

_‘Strange. Tendou isn’t a deep sleeper. Could he have snuck off-campus? No, he would have told someone.’_ Ushijima tried the door and was surprised to find it unlocked. “I am entering your room. Please reply if you’d like me to stop,” he deadpanned. When he didn’t receive an answer, he swung the door open, preparing to find the redhead with headphones on, dead asleep or slacking off.

What he was not expecting was to find him curled up in the fetal position, lying on top of his blankets and shaking like a leaf. He was sweaty and pale and alarm bells of _wrong wrong this is wrong_ were already going off in Ushijima’s head.

Ushijima carefully approached his bed and kneeled on the floor. Tendou’s head was buried in the mattress and he still hadn’t noticed him. _‘Did my knocking seriously not wake him up? How disoriented is he?’_ He reached out to grasp one of Satori’s hands, hoping not to startle him. 

Tendou’s entire body jerked in response. He made a startled, choked-off noise as he whipped around to face him. “Who--?!”

“Tendou. It’s me. Ushijima,”

Tendou blinked, squinted at him like he still wasn’t sure, then relaxed. “Toshi!” He crowed, his usual cheer making its comeback. He reached out a hand to ruffle Ushijima’s hair. It didn’t have the same effect when he was shivering like it was the middle of winter. It was strange seeing him with his hair down, too. He frowned at his captain. “What are you doing in my room?”

Ushijima gave him a hard look and took note of his flushed complexion. “I am here to check on you. Are you aware you skipped all of your morning classes?”

“Eh?! No way!” Tendou shrieked. He yanked out his phone to check the time and shrieked again. He let out a long string of profanities, but Ushijima patiently waited him out.

_‘It’s not like him to miss things. Sure, he’ll be late sometimes, but missing things entirely?’_ Ushijima’s worries only increased.

Eventually, Tendou calmed down, but only marginally. His eyes were still darting around the room in a panic, his breathing shallow and uneven. He kept pushing his hair back in vain, the strands flopping back and forth against his head. “Shit. I-I need to go, I should talk to my teachers before lunch ends,” he jumped out of bed and stood up, ready to start his day--albeit a little (a lot) late.

Tendou immediately regretted it as he unsteadily rocked back and forth, his eyes going glassy and face going white as a sheet. It wasn’t a pretty sight, and Ushijima stood up, preparing to catch him if need be. “Stood up-- _too fast--!”_ He gasped out, before promptly collapsing into Ushijima’s expectant arms.

Ushijima felt a pang of worry in his chest. _‘It’s worse than I thought if he’s sick enough to faint,’_ He sighed and deposited Tendou back into bed. _‘Really, you think he’d notice he’s sick by now,’_ After tucking him in, he kneeled to the floor once again and gently shook him awake.

Tendou only took a minute to come to. “Eh? Wh--where am I?” he asked, scared. He thrashed about in his own bed, trying to escape his covers.

“Stop that,” Ushijima sternly addressed him. “You need to rest,”

Tendou gazed at him, curious and wide-eyed. “Wakatoshi?” he sighed in relief. “Where am I? What are you doing here?” He asked, genuinely confused.

“You’re in your bed,” Ushijima lifted an eyebrow. “You collapsed after standing up too fast,”

“Oh,” Tendou chewed on his lip. “That explains it. It was just--one moment I was vertical, and the next I was horizontal. Kind of weird,” he laughed. He tried to escape his blankets, but Ushijima firmly pushed him down. “Stop! It’s too hot!” Tendou whined. He wiggled underneath the sheets, but Ushijima didn’t let up the pressure. Eventually, Tendou went slack, conceding with a huff. “Whyyyy,” he moaned.

“Hm,” Ushijima hummed in satisfaction. He reached out and pressed the back of his hand against Tendou’s forehead. _‘He’s absolutely burning up.’_ He gently pushed back a few sweat-soaked bangs, combing through and smoothing his hair out with careful fingers. “This is no good. You’re far too hot,”

Tendou blinked at him owlishly, then slowly broke out into a cheeky grin. “Hey! I’m glad you noticed!” He sluggishly brought up his hands in a pair of finger guns and cackled.

“...” Ushijima didn’t justify that with a response.

Tendou pouted. “Hey, you can’t take it back now.”

“You’re delirious,”

“Don’t eat me!” Tendou cried. He buried himself underneath his blankets.

Ushijima almost rolled his eyes. _‘Semi is rubbing off on me.’_ He patted the lump under the blankets he guessed was Tendou’s head. “ _Delirious._ Not delicious,”

A muffled “Oh,” rang out from underneath the fabric. His head popped out, red hair strewn across his face. “So you’re not going to eat me?”

_‘Endearing,’_ Not for the first time, a baffling wave of affection washed over Ushijima. He ignored it. “No. I will not be eating you. That would be highly detrimental to the team,” Strings of dread started to pool in his gut. As he picked himself up off the floor, he resolved himself to get help, and _fast._ “You have a severe fever. There is nothing more I can do to help you, so I’m going to retrieve the nurse.” _‘You might even need to go to the hospital,’_ he added silently. No need to stress Tendou out further.

“Wait!”

Before he even knew what was happening, a strong pair of arms wrapped around his midsection and yanked him onto the bed. 

“Toshi… please don’t leave me,” Tendou whispered. “I’m scared,”

Ushijima gaped, speechless. The redhead’s arms were still wrapped around him, yet weak from sickness, so he easily pried himself from his embrace and sat on the edge of the bed. “I would prefer not to get sick,”

“...Oh. Right,” Tendou’s voice was filled with a syrupy guilt. He turned his back to Ushijima and curled up again, defeated. “You should go,” He whispered. “I don’t want to… weigh you down,”

Ushijima frowned. “Tendou. You are no burden. You are a teammate and…” He cleared his throat. “...a dear friend.”

Tendou spasmed and rolled back around, touched. “T-Toshi?”

Ushijima ignored his surprise. “...Alright. I’ll stay with you until the end of lunch. I’ll have someone else get the nurse,” He already prepared his phone to shoot Reon a text. “Still, I would like you to drink some water. You must be dehydrated,” He dug a bottle out of his backpack.

Tendou was _elated._ He sat up and accepted the water, greedily gulping it down.

Ushijima silently watched the stray drops of water roll down his chin and over his Adam’s apple. He gulped. Hard. _‘Not the time.’_

When he finished, Tendou wiped his mouth and passed the bottle back. His color was already improving, although he was still quite pale. “Never pegged you for such a mother hen,”

“What? No, I’m not,” he automatically responded. 

“Hm. Okay, okay! If you say so!” he gave a satisfied purr and pressed himself against Ushijima’s back. “Thank you…Wakatoshi...” he sniffled. 

Ushijima flushed at the contact. Now both of them were red, for entirely different reasons, but still--the captain blushed harder than he thought capable. “Of course,” he cleared his throat. “...Satori,” he added quietly.

Tendou smiled into the fabric of Ushijima’s uniform. “Can I tell you a secret?”

“Of course.”

"I just wanted to let you know… this means a lot. To me,” He trailed off, close to losing consciousness. "That you care,"

Ushijima shifted so he could rub reassuring circles into the boy’s back. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Why _wouldn't_ you? Why do you care? Where would I even begin?" Tendou sighs.

"It's simple," Ushijima blinked. “For as long as you need, I’ll be there,”

Tendou makes a strange, high pitched noise, somewhere between a choke and a squeak.

"Satori. I am not here out of an obligation to the team. I am here as someone who, like you said, cares."

Tendou looked at him, his eyes once again comically wide with his signature expression. But Ushijima could tell that for once, the shock was real. It slowly morphed into a dazed sort of smile as Tendou hummed and tried to press himself closer to him, almost like he was trying to embrace him without actually embracing him.

Ushijima felt a strange sense of satisfaction at the contact, even if it was through a ridiculous amount of blankets.

...He was kind enough not to mention the tear tracks on Tendou’s face.

As his friend started to drift off once again, he tenderly pushed back the sweat-slick bangs on his forehead, his chest strangely tight at the sight of his peaceful face.

_‘For as long as he’ll have me, I’ll protect him.’_

* * *

The next week Wakatoshi came down with the same fever Satori had. As he quietly allowed Tendou to nurse him back to health--feeding him chicken noodle soup, taking his temperature, pressing a cool washcloth to his forehead--he only had one thought.

_‘...It was worth it.’_

**Author's Note:**

> UM okay ima have to come clean about some stuff
> 
> 1\. i was drunk when i wrote this [edit: yes SIR yes i was]  
> 2\. i haven't read haikyuu in like. over four years. i'm?? not even sure?? if i ever got to the shiratorizawa arc???? but i volunteered to beta read for [lookingforabeta on tumblr](https://lookingforabeta.tumblr.com/) and the person i'm beta-ing for is writing a FIRE ushiten fic and i fell in love w it. so yeahA  
> 3\. i usually hate sick fics so i don't read them that often so idk why. i felt so motivated to write this? so i don't know. how to write sick fics.
> 
> if this is out of character / janky you NOW KNOW WHY. ima have to reread haikyuu beforehand but i already have another ushiten fic in the works and i am hyped for it.
> 
> alright, as always, please leave a comment on your way out! stay safe y'all!


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